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Please, Do Not Call Yourself A Writer, Unless…
I’m a writer. I can say that now. I’ve written four fiction books and one academic textbook with my colleagues. It annoys me when people say they are writers when they are not. Have you written something today? Then you are a writer. Did you write something yesterday? Then you are a writer. You can’t call yourself a writer unless you actually engage in the craft of writing. To my students: you are writers. You are writing. I am excited to read your articles. To my fellow writers on Instagram and Twitter: you are writers. Many of my followers and those I follow are writing. We are all working hard…
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What Makes A Good Story?
Talking with students during this week’s artist’s exhibit at Stevenson University, we chatted about what makes a good story. From students studying film to students who are writers, some of these tips below are my favorites for inspiring beginning writers to focus and start the process and work on their craft. The infographic posted below was part of my exhibit. Writing Is Hard Writing is hard, as we have heard time and time again from folks such as William Zinsser to contemporary magazine writer Tom Junod (pictured below), and the one thing that rings true for all writers is that it takes work. However, these tips are some that you…
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What It Feels Like to Finish Writing a Novel
* Well, friends, I’m coming down the home stretch. By next week, my novel will be written, if it does not happen sooner than that. People have asked me this question: what does it feel like to finish a novel? As this will be the third one I have published, it feels a little like saying goodbye. What I mean by that is you live and breathe the characters and their situations for so long, that when you’re done writing their story, their story is over, and you have to say farewell. The creative process of actually building and telling the story is my absolute favorite part of novel writing.…
